Massaging device



Patented June 11, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

massaging elements adapted to be oscillated at,

various speeds and to be applied to the surface under treatment, atvarious manually imposed pressures to obtain maximum massaging efii- 15ciency by the combined mechanical motion and manually controlledpressure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a massaging devicewherein the massaging elements are of a novel construction greatlyfacili- 20 tating the massaging operation by enabling manual massagingto be simulated in a dependable and untiring machine operation which canbe carried on by unskilled persons.

With these and other objects in view, the in- 25 vention resides in thecombinations and arrangements of elements, as set forth in the followingspecification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, 1

, 30 Figure 1 is a longitudinal central sectional view of. a massagingdevice embodying this invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of themassaging device with the top section of the case removed;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the massag- 35 ing device with themajor portion of the bottom section of the case removed;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view of one of aplurality of massaging elements embodied in the invention.

40 Referring specifically to the drawing, the invention comprises acasing C of elongated and rounded form capable of being readily held inthe hand to manipulate the device, and composed of top and bottomsections ID and ll detachably 45 secured together by screws I2, one ofwhich is shown in Figure 1.

A universal type electric motor M is suitably supported in the bottomsection II, and isconventional in construction so that a detaileddescription thereof is unnecessary for those skilled in the art.

However, for the purpose of this invention, the U-shaped core I 3 of themotor magnet II has rigidly secured thereto by screws l5 one end of abracket IS, the other end of which is supported rl d by one of thescrews l2 as clearly shown in Figure 1. l The bracket 16 provides amounting for a massaging unit U composed of race members I! and 18 forthe balls l9 of an anti-friction bearing. 5 The race member I7 issecured to the bracket l6, and the race member i8 is rotatably mountedfrom the bracket by a headed pin 20 having a threaded shank 20a ofreduced diameter passing through openings in the race member I! and inthe bracket, and provided with a nut 2|.

The race member l8 which is constructed of fibre or similar materialcarries a plurality of massaging elements, each in the form of anapplicator 22 having a flexible arm projecting through a slot 23 in thebottom section II and composed of a tightly wound coil spring 24enclosed by a snugly fitting tube 25 of elastic rubher, the springhaving threaded pins 26 and 21 permanently fitted in its ends andprojecting g therefrom.

The pins 26 arescrewed into sockets 28 in the race member 18, and thepins 21 are threaded into bushings 29 in the applicators 22, whichlatter can be of various forms and constructed 35 of differentmaterials, such as hard rubber, soft rubber or sponge rubber. Thethreaded connection between the pins 2"! and the bushings 29 permit theapplicators 22 to be readily removed for sterilizing and/or substitutionof other applica- 30 tors. I

The applicators are equally spaced circumferentially in a relativelyclose group and are adapted to be oscillated as a unit by the motor Mthrough the medium of a mechanical operative connection in the form of arocker arm 30 constituting the armature of the motor and pivotallymounted on a pin 3| sup-ported in the core IS, a portion of which isremoved to provide an opening 32 (Figure 2) in which the arm 30 canfreely rock. One end of the arm 30 is provided with a rounded head 33projecting into a recess 34 in the race member I8, and the other end ofthe arm is provided with a yoke 35 receiving the crank pin 36 of acrankshaft 31 journaled in bearings 38. Fixed to the shaft 31 is aflywheel 39 and a cam 40, the latter operating a mechanical interrupter4! in circuit with the windings 42 of the magnet M to eftectoperation ofthe motor M in a man- 5 ner well understood by those familiar with theart.

Assuming that current is being supplied to the motor M and that thelatter is in operation, the

rocking motion of the arm 30 will impart a similar motion to theapplicators 22 as a unit about the fixed axis of the pin 20.

Thus, with the applicators applied to the skin, massaging of the latterwill be efiected in accordance with the pressure imposed on theapplicators and the speed at which the applicators are being driven. Theflexibility of the applicator arms enables the applicators to simulatethe massaging action of the fingers, except that the applicatorsfunction with much greater efficiency in aiding circulation of the bloodand in the treatment of wrinkles and other defects and blemishes whichrespond to massaging treatment.

It will be noted that the end'of the arm 30 having the head 33 is splitlongitudinally and that a screw 43 is threaded into one portion of thearm to bear against the other, as. shown in Figure 3, so as to enablesuch portions to be spread to compensate for Wear on the head 30 and/oron the. walls of the recess 34 engaged by the head.

What is claimed is:

1. A massaging device comprising: a handle; a plurality of applicators;means mounting said applicators in a group to project from the handlefor oscillatory motion as a unit about a fixed axis on the handle; meansin the handle co-acting with the mounting means to oscillate theapplicators; resilient arms connecting the applicators to the mountingmeans; each of said arms being composed of threaded pins projecting fromthe mounting means and from an applicator; a coil spring threaded atits: ends onto said pins; and an elastic tube snugly fitting the springand spanning the space between the mounting means and applicator. I

2. A massaging device comprising: a casing adapted to be held in thehandle and having openings; a frame supported in the casing; a

bearing composed of race members and antifriction elements therebetween;one of said members being secured to the frame; a pin rotatably mountingthe other of the race members on the frame; applicators having armsextending through said openings and secured to said other of the racemembers; a rocker arm pivotally mounted on the frame; said other racemember having a recess in which one end of the rocker arm works toeffect oscillation of the said other race member in response to rockingof the rocker arm; and means co-acting with the rocker arm to actuatethe latter.

3. A massaging device as embodied in claim 2 wherein said one end of therocker arm is split and means is provided to spread the split portion ofthe arm to compensate for wear on the arm or on the walls of said recessengaged thereby.

SUESABURO AOYAGI.

